"Adam Law, M.D., interviewed Anthony R. Ingraffea, Ph.D., P.E., as part of a series of interviews funded by the Heinz Endowment. Dr. Ingraffea is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, and has taught structural mechanics, finite element methods, and fracture mechanics at Cornell for 33 years. He discusses issues related to hydraulic fracturing, including inherent risks, spatial intensity, and the importance of a multi- disciplinary organization in establishing a chain of evidence.There is one very important aspect of unconventional gas developed from shale that hardly anybody understands, and I’m talking about the general public, policymakers, even regulators. The only entities that get it are the operators and a few individuals like myself who really understand the nexus between geology, geochemistry, engineering, science, and technology. And let me tell you what that issue is. It’s called spatial intensity."

"Horizontal drilling is the process of drilling a well from the surface to a subsurface location just above the target oil or gas reservoir called the "kickoff point", then deviating the well bore from the vertical plane around a curve to intersect the reservoir at the "entry point" with a near-horizontal inclination, and remaining within the reservoir until the desired bottom hole location is reached."

"Increased production of US natural gas in recent years has helped to meet the growing demands ofAmerican customers and has reduced natural gas imports. Natural gas is also a cleaner burning fuel when compared to its most realistic substitute, coal. This substantial increase in production has been attributed in large part due to the development of shale gas through a process called hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing has enabled the expansion of natural gas extraction into new undeveloped areas. The Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania has experienced impressive growth in its natural gas industry and neighboring Ohio is beginning down the same path. Proponents argue that among the many purported advantages, natural gas production is associated with significant amounts of new economic activity.Economists have 150 years of experience in examining energy booms and busts throughout the world to form their expectations of how energy development affects regional economies. Generally, economists find that energy development is associated with small or even negative long-run impacts. They refer to a "natural resources curs" phenomenon associated with the surprisingly poor performance of resource abundant economies. There appears to be more examples like Louisiana, West Virginia, Venezuela, and Nigeria of energy economies seemingly underperforming and few examples of places such as Alberta and Norway of relative over performance. This backdrop needs to be considered in forming good policy in Ohio in order to avoid being in the former group."

"It seems that the fracking industry's biggest concern is keeping their operations secret. Whether they're talking about the chemicals in their frac fluid, how they pay (or don't pay) royalties to landowners, or even whether doctors can tell their patients what they're treating, industry representatives have pushed to keep their secrets. The industry has been pretty good at keeping people in the dark.But two recent disclosures have shed some light on how the industry manages to obscure the details of its operations."

"For all of these reasons I conclude that a zoning ordinance that allows unconventional deep shale gas development to occur in over ninety percent (90%) of Middlesex Township, including in close proximity to schools and residences, is at the present time and with current technology not protective of the public health, safety and welfare. Residents and those who regularly visit the Township for work or school will be vulnerable to exposures to chemicals in the air and water. These chemicals will also get in food sources, especially those raised in local farms and gardens, and the exposure will result in increases in rates of cancer, nervous and respiratory system effects, as well as an overall reduction in the quality of life. A similar conclusion was reached after extensive review by the New York State Department of Health (2014), which resulted in a decision to prohibit fracking throughout New York State. Much more research is needed to improve the safety of unconventional deep shale gas extraction and perhaps someday technical advances will allow extraction of shale gas in a fashion that does not cause significant threats to human health. However, that is not the case today. For the sake of the health of the residents of Middlesex Township, especially its children, zoning a community so that unconventional deep shale gas development can occur within less than two miles of schools and close to significant residential development poses a particularly significant public health risk."

"March 09, 2004 The day the earth shook.... from a massive gas kick at the 'Arbaney' well thatrumbled the ground over a mile away in all directions.Three weeks later, a 115 million cubic feet blow out of natural gas followed at the 'Schwartz' well.During that 2004 seep, EnCana had failed to re-cement a well which lost circulation (dropping thousands of feet of well-bore cement presumably into an underground fault). They failed to re-cement the well then went ahead and fracked it anyway, without telling anyone what they had done."

"From the Louisiana bayous to the arid plains of Texas and Oklahoma, thousands of oil and gas wells, abandoned at the end of their productive life, have become conduits for noxious liquids that bubble up from deep below the earth's surface to kill crops and taint drinking water.For state governments in America's oil patch, these abandoned wells have become an expensive legacy left by a fading industry. "

"Five and a half years ago, I learned we might lose our home to oil drilling. Strangers could suddenly be in control of our land, scraping, drilling, fracturing bedrock, leaving the wastes—with no legal responsibility to us. What would happen to the local economy, to services everyone takes for granted, in the Wild West atmosphere of an oil or gas “play,” when boomtown populations double overnight? So began my forced education about petroleum engineering. "

" Yet industry representatives and policymakers seeking to expand drilling often dismiss claims of health impacts as “personal anecdotes” and isolated incidents.The primary reasons that public health risks posed by increasing gas development can be disputed:- A lack of established science. Widespread scientific investigation has only recently begun to investigate the relationship between gas development and public health impacts.- State governments, which are largely responsible for protecting the public from irresponsible oil and gas development, have until recently refused to consider the issue.- Even as they have become widespread, individual reports of health problems in the gas patch have been continually dismissed as anecdotal by industry and government."

"The amount of air pollution boiling out scared me!Marathon’s Sugarhorn facility is a chronic offender so I knew I would see emissions. I always see emissions at the Sugarhorn. But I was not prepared for what I saw that day in Karnes County as I looked through the FLIR camera."

"Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy future. The U.S. has vast reserves of natural gas that are commercially viable as a result of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies enabling greater access to gas in shale formations. Responsible development of America's shale gas resources offers important economic, energy security, and environmental benefits.This is an 'expose' of the development of natural gas in the U.S."

"Links to peer reviewed articles concerned with chemicals in natural gas operations affecting air, health, water, ecology, wastewater, geology, policy, review, and others.Unfortunately, many of the articles can only be obtained by paying a fee."

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